Grade: 3/5
A solid movie with an intense premise of a true story about a falsely accused inmate on death row. Had higher expectations as the story writes for itself but the acting of the characters, while strong, wasn’t strong enough.
“Just Mercy” begins with Bryan Stevenson (played by Michael B. Jordan) interning as a lawyer for inmates in prison. He then graduates from Harvard and starts a free law practice in Alabama representing prisoners on death row. His family (mother in particular) is not happy with his decision as she feels it could be a dangerous and slippery slope (we don’t see his family again in the movie). His working partner, Eva Ansley (played by Brie Larson), is an anti death penalty activist and helps him start the law practice. He meets several inmates but one of them, Walter McMillan (Jamie Foxx), peaks his interest and he decides to represent him. Walter McMillian was accused of murdering an 18 year old (white) teenager in 1987 in Monroeville, Alabama (birthplace of Harper Lee, author of “To Kill a Mocking Bird” which is referenced on copious occasions in the movie). McMillan has been on death row for 5 years. Race and prejudice is ubiquitous in this movie. Bryan Stevenson meets with the public DA asking for any documents relating to Walter’s conviction but he is only provided with a thin file of basic papers, nothing substantial. He then meets with Walter’s family who profess his innocence and Bryan offers them support and promises to appeal Walter’s death penalty and get him out of jail. This is where the movie felt a little predictable – there was no tension in terms of what happens next.
Even though this movie is PG13, there is one scene of a death row inmate going to the electric chair which got me (and the audience) squirming in our seats. I believe that was a point of emphasis by the makers – to show this scene to create the full impact.
Side Note: Stay till the ending credits of this movie where they show the actual characters of the movie and “what happened to them”….resemblance to their movie characters is uncanny – props to casting. This 60 Minutes expose was very instrumental in changing the tide for Walter’s innocence.
Bottom Line: The real life story of Walter McMillan is simply amazing and shows how much we still need to grow to eradicate racism in society. The altruism exhibited by Bryan Stevenson (Walter’s lawyer) for taking on these cases pro bono and doing it till today, is a testament that good still exists in this world and should be applauded. For that reason alone – this movie is worth a watch but can wait till it comes on digital.
